Crosby took part in the team's morning skate with its extra forwards. He was cleared to practice last week, less than a month after a puck to the face caused multiple fractures to his jaw and knocked out several teeth.

"(The doctor) said everything looked good, but he just wasn't ready to clear me to play," Crosby said. "Obviously, I would have loved to have played, but that's not the way it is. I'll make sure I'm ready when the time comes.

Crosby said he has been given no timetable for his return. Game 2 is Friday night.

At the time of his injury, Crosby led the league with 56 points. By the end of the season, he was four points behind Art Ross winner Martin St. Louis.

The Penguins, though their puck-possession numbers suffered without Crosby, went 8-4 while playing without him.

"We've played a lot of hockey without Sid on our lines and we played most of our games this year with him," coach Dan Bylsma said. "We've been playing and preparing for with or without Sidney Crosby in our lineup. If you are talking about the impact of not having one of the best players in the game in your lineup, certainly you would like to have him in there. But we've played the last section of our season without him and we've been practicing that way for this week and we are ready to go for Game 1."